Compliance Officer

PURPOSE OF JOB

• Act as Hackney Education’s (HE) main point of contact and service expert in relation to Complaints, Freedom of Information, Members/MP Enquiries, Subject Access Requests and GDPR – providing advice and guidance to senior management, service managers and, where appropriate, schools regarding aspects of the law and management of issues in relation to these areas.
• This post is about acting as an internal expert in relation to the above matters. The post-holder’s role will be to empower and coordinate teams to make and implement appropriate decisions regarding governance and compliance.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

• Work with LBH Information Management Team, LBH Legal Team and other FOI / Data Protection leads across the Children & Education Directorates to develop & implement good practice – sharing learning as and when appropriate.
• Liaise with LBH Information Management Team to ensure HE practice is in line with the law.
• Liaise with LBH Business Analysis & Complaints Team regarding LBH complaints procedure and provide routine advice & guidance to HE officers regarding complaints process.
• Provide advice and guidance to HE officers, senior managers and (as appropriate) schools regarding Complaints, Freedom of Information, Mayor / Member / MP Enquiries, Subject Access Requests and GDPR, and to support provision of information informing robust and timely responses.
• Log receipt for all HE Freedom of Information Requests. Allocate, monitor and chase responses; determine / direct when and why information should not be disclosed (in line with legislation), ensure response provided meets request requirements and is quality assured.
• Monitor performance on LBH complaints and produce reports for senior managers and council members as appropriate.
• Work with LBH Information Management Team to monitor data incidents reported by HE staff (& where appropriate, schools & settings), undertaking investigations to determine the cause of the incident and make recommendations to mitigate against any data loss and to reduce risk of further loss.
• Work with the LBH Information Management Team to resolve any FOI/DPA issues which are referred to the ICO, including FOI reviews.
• Seek advice from LBH Legal as required.
• Undertake ad hoc research and produce briefing notes for senior management as directed.
• Take responsibility for continuing self-development and participate in training and development activities.

Line management of Compliance Apprentice:

• The post-holder will act as Line Manager for 1 x Compliance Apprentice.
• As Line Manager, the post-holder will be expected to:
• Provide day-to-day managerial support.
• Oversee and direct the workloads of any Apprentice(s) for whom they are responsible.
• Review Apprentice(s) workloads on an ongoing basis, to ensure duties are on track.
• Work with the Strategy & Governance Manager to redistribute Apprentice workloads, where deemed appropriate.
• Prioritise and champion Apprentice training and development – working to understand skill gaps, and put plans in place for overcoming them.

Additional Duties

• Maintain an efficient and accessible system to keep an up to date record of all current and historic contracts held by HLT.
• Raise purchase orders and make payments in line with LBH policy & procedure.
• Deputise for the Strategy & Governance Manager where appropriate.
•  To undertake additional or other duties as may be appropriate to achieve the objectives of the post and as directed and deemed appropriate by the Line Manager.

General enquiries

• The post holder must at all times carry out his/her responsibilities with due regard to our policy, organisation and arrangements for Health and Safety at Work.
• It is your responsibility to carry out your duties in line with our policy on Equality and Cohesion and be sensitive and caring to the needs of others, promoting a positive approach to a harmonious working environment.
• You must promote and safeguard the welfare of children, young and vulnerable people that you are responsible for or come into contact with.
• All Hackney Education Staff are expected to demonstrate and work towards developing the Hackney Education Leadership Qualities which are: a strong sense of direction and purpose; creativity; resilience; credibility; presence; connecting; self awareness.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications and Knowledge/Skills Requirements

Essential

• Good standard of general education.
• Experience of providing advice, guidance and training to a range of professionals and senior managers in an assertive, sensitive and confidential (where appropriate) manner.
• Experience of balancing multiple priorities and dealing with ambiguity.
• Knowledge of the FOI Act, the Data Protection Act, GDPR and other related statutory obligations; ability to maintain and review systems and procedures in line with IT policy and IG.
• Ability to interpret complex legislation and provide clear and pragmatic direction to support strategic and operational decision making at a senior management level.
• Ability to undertake complex investigations and to have the confidence to challenge managers and officers to ensure investigation outcomes are objective and evidence based.
• A high level of IT proficiency in 11. all Microsoft programmes including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and to organise and manage day to day work.
• Have strong verbal, written and visual communication skills that you can tailor to the needs of the audience.
• Strong analytical and presentation skills, able to present complex ideas in a range. 
• Ability to analyse information and make decisions within the appropriate procedural and policy framework.
• Familiarity with setting, monitoring, and reporting measurable performance targets.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a local authority or similar public sector organisation.
• Experience of using financial procedures, as well as financial packages and spreadsheets, for processing purchase orders and payment of invoices.

To view the full job description, please click here –>Compliance Officer Job Description